[You have entered the 'Tutorial Town'.]
[Final Tutorial – Maintaining Profit]
[For ten days, obtain as much TP as you can in the tutorial's society.]
[At the end of ten days, you must possess more than 1000 TP to clear the final tutorial.]
[All TP earned by Players will be theirs to keep.]
The transition was jarring. Klein Moretti materialized on a street of muddy cobblestone, the artificial sun of the 2nd tutorial replaced by the gray, overcast sky of a medieval town. The scent of ale, damp wood, and unwashed bodies immediately assaulted his senses.
A moment later, Kim Dokja appeared beside him, his face a mask of profound, weary annoyance.
Just then, a new, shared system window flared to life.
[Main Scenario #1 – Survival has been updated.]
[Status: Paused (Pending Tutorial Completion)]
[Time Limit: Prolonged indefinitely until exit from 'Tower of Wish'.]
[Rewards will be calculated upon rendezvous with other 'Collaboration' participants.]
"So," Dokja muttered, dismissing the window, "we're still on the clock for the main scenario, but stuck in this... side-quest hell."
The town was far from empty.
A man in what looked like a paladin's armor was arguing with a robed woman, who was accusing him of being a "scammer."
A muscular mercenary NPC was laughing boisterously at the [Lv.??? Mercenary's Pub], and dozens of other "Players"—identifiable by their shabby leather tutorial armor and dazed, angry expressions—milled about, staring at the bulletin board.
"This is..." Klein said, his voice low as he took in the scene. His [Spirit Vision] was active, painting the rowdy NPCs with faint, but chaotic, auras. He looked at his status.
[TP: 340]
He glanced at Dokja. "How much?" Klein asked.
"...312," Dokja gritted out, his [Rank 68] finish clearly a source of personal insult.
"We need 1000 TP each to clear this tutorial," Klein stated the obvious, his mind already falling into the bleak calculations of his early days in Tingen. "That is a 2000 TP minimum for us to survive."
"If we just want to survive," Dokja said, his eyes scanning the bulletin board. The missions were identical to the ones he'd seen in Ways of Survival's arcs.
[Goblin Settlement - 300 TP], [Bandit Wipeout - 500 TP].
"With our nerfed stats, those are death traps," Klein observed, as if reading Dokja's mind. "They are designed for parties, not two under-equipped individuals."
"I know," Dokja said, his usual 'scammer' smile absent, replaced by a look of pure concentration. "So, we don't fight. Give me a minute."
Dokja stood perfectly still, his gaze unfocused. He wasn't looking at the town; he was looking at a series of system windows only he could see. He pressed the button 'The oldest'.
[Reading Comprehension is activated!]
[Community - Public Forum]
[Post: THIS TOWN IS A SCAM! (68 Replies)]
[Post: The 'Goblin Settlement' quest is a trap! The 'bandits' are actually Lv.5 NPCs!]
[Post: Has anyone seen 'Extra7'? What was his rank? #ProfitMaster]
[Post: Aileen the Spirit Speech Master is here!]
[Post: Looking for party, am Lv. 1 Healer, NOT A SCAMMER. (2 Replies)]
…
Kim Dokja read for five solid minutes, his expression shifting from annoyance to a cold, analytical calm. He was cross-referencing dozens of posts in just a second, filtering the genuine rage from the posts, and building a mental map.
"Alright," Dokja said, finally looking up. "I've got it."
"Got what?"
"The 'script'," Dokja said. "This town is exactly as advertised: a 'society' tutorial. And this society is built on scams. The 'Goblin' and 'Bandit' quests are traps. The mercenary pub overcharges. 70% of the NPCs are scammers. But... the other 30% are real. There are real, low-paying, safe quests. 'Lost Cat', 'Haunted House', 'Deliver Ale'. The Players are desperate and losing all their money on the 'high-reward' traps."
Klein processed this. "So, we cannot earn enough by taking the 'real' quests. The rewards are too low."
"Exactly," Dokja said. "So we don't take the quests. We sell the information. But to do that, we need a 'hook'. Something to prove we're not scammers ourselves." He looked at Klein. "Mr. Moretti. How do you feel about a career change?"
Klein frowned. "You won't believe how good I'm at changing careers."
Their "hustle" was simple. Dokja would post on the [Public Forum], offering "Scam-Checking Services" for 5 TP. Klein also offered a service of a Seer. Dokja was quite impressed of how good Klein is.
When a Player came to their stall (a rented crate in an alley), Dokja would explain why the [Goblin Settlement] quest was a trap.
Then, Klein, in his role as the "Consultant," would ask to see the Player's quest-scroll. "Indeed," Klein would say, placing a hand over the scroll without touching it, his face impassive. Occasionally, he would also read people's fate or interpret people's dreams.
After only two days, they became famous even among NPCs. They had more than 100 clients a day, the price of their services grew exponentially.
But with great popularity came big problems.
Some of the players wanted a bite of Kleins and Dokja's wealth.
However, the NPC, whose diseases were detected in early stages or curious about their friends and relatives on upper floors of the Tower, decided to protect their small business as a token of gratitude.
Even then there were daredevils who tried to use the skills connected to 'Stealing' they acquired during tutorial.
All in vain.
Klein's keen spiritual perception always warned him.
'Luckily, there aren't any Beyonders from Marauder Pathway… To have Amon amplified with those stealing skills he might actually be able to steal the whole Sefirot,' shivers ran down Klein's back.
It was a combination of Dokja's meta-knowledge and Klein's nerfed, but still functional, Seer abilities. It was 100% effective(mostly possible because of Klein :3).
For eight days, they cornered the market on 'trust', divination and information. They were the only 'honest' business in a town of vipers.
Their TP grew. 1000... 3000... 7000...
On the ninth day, they were taking a break when Dokja navigated to a different part of the town. "There's one more stop."
They arrived at a dilapidated shop on the town's outskirts.
[Miscellaneous Item Shop].
"This is it," Dokja said. "According to the community, although it looked like the town didn't sell anything special, there was actually a shop that sold rather unique items. As the shop that only existed in the highest difficulty tutorial, it could be said that this shop was what made the highest difficulty tutorial worth the trouble."
They entered. The place was a mess, save for a gleaming, brand-new counter. Behind it sat a pale, handsome NPC. He was reading a newspaper.
"We're looking," Dokja said, browsing the shelves.
The shopkeeper NPC didn't say anything.
However, his silence made him more trustworthy.
'After all, being talkative was one of the key characteristics of a scammer,' Klein silently lampooned.
[Lv.3 Magic Contract], [Lv.4 Illness Cure Potion].
There were all sorts of items in the shop.
All junk.
At least in the eyes of Dokja.
Just for info, Lv.2 or even Lv.3 items were a big rarity in tutorial.
Most of the items sold in other shops were Lv.0. And the prices were unreasonably high.
Well it's the tutorial town of the highest difficult for a reason!
However, the real specialty of the shop was on the counter.
"Heard you had a... windfall," Dokja prodded. The sellers smile cracked. It turned into a grimace of pure, unadulterated trauma.
It was getting awkward at how silent and composed the man was.
"Windfall?" he hissed. "I had a visitation. A plague. A black-hooded maniac." Dokja and Klein glanced at each other.
"Bruh," the man slapped the new wood. "He came in here a few tutorials ago. He shows up on Day 3 or something of his tutorial, dressed like a lunatic, and just... stares at my inventory. Then, on the last day, he comes back and spends literally more than the Players earned altogether!"
"21300TP!" he shrieked. "'Extra7'! That was him! He walked in, dumped a mountain of banknotes on this counter, and pointed at my most precious relic."
The seller fanned himself, breathing heavily. "So no, I have no 'windfall'. I have this. And one... other item. A useless, cursed puzzle box that was left by the founder of this city. I had no choice but to also sell it. But that black-hooded guy was the only one in history who could have afforded it. He's gone. So it'll just rot here forever."
He reached under the counter and, with a sigh of defeat, placed a small, dark wooden box on the counter. It was covered in symbols that seemed to twist the light around them.
[Fragment of a Forgotten Story (???)] [Price: 10,000 TP]
The moment it appeared, two things happened. Kim Dokja felt his [Fourth Wall] thrum violently. It wasn't a voice, but a feeling—an intense, pulling hunger.
[The Fable 'Fragment of a Forgotten Story' is resonating with your [Fourth Wall]!]
At the same time, Klein's [Spirit Vision] flared. The box was a void. It had no aura. It was a hole in spiritual perception, concealed with an authority so high it made the back of his neck prickle. It felt... like home.
They locked eyes.
"We have... 12,112 TP," Dokja said, checking their shared account.
"We have 10,000 TP, right now." Klein gestured, and ten 1000 banknotes materialized out of his inventory on the counter.
The man stared at the money. He looked at the box. He looked at the [1 Day Remaining] clock on the town's central tower. He knew no one else would ever come for it. "...Get it out of my sight," he growled.
Dokja pushed the 10,000 TP forward. Seller snatched the money. "And get out! I'm closing! I'm selling this town and moving to the 3rd floor!"
Dokja grabbed the [Fragment of a Forgotten Story (???)] box.
[You have acquired [Fragment of a Forgotten Story (???)]!]
They stood outside, the bells chiming as the owner slammed and locked his door.
[TP Remaining: 2112]
They were, once again, paupers.
"We have enough TP," Dokja said, his voice flat. "We still have... 23 hours."
"Then we should at least try to help some locals…" Klein said.
Dokja couldn't understand what drove Klein.
Does he really want to help everyone?
[Constellation 'Demon King of Salvation' complains he's not a part of 'Absolute good'.]
What followed was not a "hustle."
They didn't just sell information; they ran the low-level quests. Dokja used [Way of the Wind] to deliver ale, sprinting across town. Klein used his "Consultant" status to mediate NPC disputes, using [Spirit Vision] to resolve conflicts for 5 or 10 TP at a time. They found 'Old Man Tabbas's' cat five times.
They were exhausted, spiritually drained, and had just scraped together 1,888 TP more.
"Did we really have to try so hard?"
[The final tutorial will end in 10 minutes.]
Klein quickly took out two banknotes.
He transferred 1500 TP to Dokja
[Total TP: 2018]
[The third tutorial has ended.]
[Calculating final rankings...]
[48 Players have successfully cleared the tutorial.]
[30 Players have failed. They will be held until the next tutorial.]
"The box," Dokja, leaning against the wall. "Who keeps it?"
However, the system alerts weren't finished yet.
[Hidden Reward – Profit Master]
[The profit of victorious challengers will be revealed along with their nicknames (expenses excluded).]
[Top 5 challengers will be given 100% of the profit they gained as a bonus.]
[Rank 1 – Klein Moretti, 8320 TP.]
[Rank 2 – Alov, 5282 TP](:3)
[Rank 3 – 'Demon King of Salvation', 4415 TP]
[Rank 4 –…]
Dokja only smiled and gave the box to Klein.
"It's yours, don't worry take it!"
Klein took the box hesitantly. The moment his fingers touched the lid, the petrified wood didn't open. It dissolved. It melted into his hand, sinking into his Spirit Body.
'Bruh, I wanted to use my skill to check it's history…'
A new window, visible only to him, appeared.
[You have acquired the [Key of the Forgotten Archive (???)]!]
[This item is a conceptual key that unlocks a 'Sealed Story'.]
[This item resonates strongly with 'Sefirah Castle'.]
[Your 'Degree of Existence' is being... partially recognized.]
Before Klein could analyze this, the transfer light enveloped them.
[Congratulations, Players. You have avoided 'Annihilation of Self'.]
[Your black entrance ticket has been confirmed.]
"Mr. Moretti," Dokja said, as his feet began to fade. "Klein, should we become companions?"